Bus driver gets $300k bail for causing death of pensioner in accident

A 30-year-old bus driver who is accused of causing the death of a 72-year-old in an accident was on Thursday charged and released on $300, 000 bail.

Leon Kyle of 222 Lamaha Street, Kitty, Georgetown, appeared before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Kyle was not required to plead to the charge which stated that on April 12, 2021, at Avenue of the Republic, Georgetown, he drove minibus #BWW 7191 in a manner dangerous to the public, thereby causing the death of Keith Alexander McGarrell, 72, of Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara.

He was granted bail in the sum of $300,000 and instructed to make his next court appearance on May 11.

According to information, on the day in question, the minibus was proceeding south along the eastern carriageway of Avenue of the Republic. The driver alleged that as he was in the vicinity of Demerara Fire Insurance Company, the pensioner suddenly attempted to cross the road from west to east and ended up in the path of the bus.

Kyle told Police that applied brakes to avoid a collision, but the right side front of the vehicle collided with the pensioner and as a result, the elderly man fell to the roadway and received injuries to his head and other parts of his body.

He was picked up in an unconscious state by the driver and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was seen and examined by doctors on duty.  He subsequently died without regaining consciousness.

A breathalyzer test was conducted on the said driver and no trace of alcohol was found in his system.  The matter was then reported and following an investigation, Kyle was arrested and charged